Friendships on hold for top two

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Friendship and national loyalties will be put aside tonight when
the two top teams in the national league clash at the State Netball
Centre in Parkville.

The unbeaten Sydney Swifts and second-placed Melbourne Phoenix
have 10 national representatives between them, but a fortnight
before the finals begin, both teams will be looking for the mental
edge on their opponents.

Phoenix co-captain Sharelle McMahon said the growing confidence
in the Melbourne team would be boosted by a win over last year's
premiers.

"A win will not only be great in terms of our position on the
ladder but also the mental side of things is great. If we can get a
bit of an edge over them in whatever way we can, we will be looking
to do that," McMahon said.

"If you win, it really does give you the confidence and that is
important in the two weeks coming to the finals."

Sydney captain and goal keeper Liz Ellis believes friendships
have to be put aside for one of the toughest matches of the
season.

"I think when you are good mates, you go pretty hard for the
ball and both Sharelle and I are both pretty fierce competitors and
I know that if I step back from the contest, she would be
disappointed and the same goes the other way," Ellis said. "She is
the best goal attack in the world and it is nice to be able to test
yourself against that."

The Phoenix grabbed second spot on the table last week when they
put together their most impressive performance of the season to
thrash the competition's only other major contender, the Adelaide
Thunderbirds.

After a season of injury and illness, the Phoenix appear to be
finally finding their best form and will be further strengthened by
the return of goal defence Julie Prendergast, who was away last
week with the Australian under-21 team playing in the youth world
championships.

The Swifts beat the Phoenix by nine goals earlier in the season
but with the Melbourne team's defensive combination more settled,
the recent return to form has not been lost on Ellis.

"We had a look at what Phoenix did last week against
Thunderbirds and it looks like they are coming into form just at
the pointy end of the season, so we expect for it to be a really
tough match," Ellis said.

Meanwhile, the Melbourne Kestrels will be looking for a big win
over bottom-of-the-table Queensland Firebirds on Sunday in Geelong.
The Firebirds are yet to win a game this season and the Kestrels,
in fifth spot, are still in with a big chance of a finals
berth.

The last spot in the four will come down to the next week's
clash between the Kestrels, who play the fourth-placed Hunter
Jaegers, now a game in front of Melbourne with a superior
percentage.